


Mama Bear

by kibasniper



Category: Psychonauts (Video Games)
Genre: Adoption, Bears, Forests, Gen, Humor, Maternal Instinct, Video, Wrestling, problem solving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 04:48:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29994138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kibasniper/pseuds/kibasniper
Summary: Wrestling a PSI-bear leads to an odd, but familiar situation for Mikhail.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Mama Bear

**Author's Note:**

> this was one of my fics for a fic jam based around the campers finding vhs tapes with them in it! this one is much sillier than my other one since it was more of a spur of the moment idea. this fic is called "mikhail gets adopted" in my google docs but that's a bit too on the nose for a title lol.

The tape’s perspective dumbfounded Raz. The camera, or so Raz assumed, focused on a large, rocky den. Leaves and sticks surrounded it like a welcome mat. Shadows filled the den’s interior, making it impossible for Raz to discern anything significant. The only sound was the breeze making the nearby branches sway and carrying the fireflies fluttering in the woods.

But before Raz could write off the tape as boring, two arms thrust out from the darkness. Golden brown hands clawed at the leaves and sticks. Their dark red sleeves seemed to stick to their skin despite the wild movements of their hands. They pounded the ground before being whisked into the burrow, their fingers splaying out.

“Uh, what the hell was that?” Raz asked, arching an eyebrow.

One hand emerged again and snatched the side of the den. Their other hand grabbed their wrist, keeping themself in place. Their knuckles seemed to whiten from the pressure they exerted, their grip unbreakable despite the random twitching of their arms.

Instead of a body, a furry, striped hat flung out of the den. It rolled to the side, carried by the wind into the crook of a tree trunk. The hand clutching their wrist reached for it but quickly seized the side of the den when they nearly lost their grip.

Raz recognized that hat. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted it on top of the head of Mikhail Bulgakov. Glancing back at the screen, he recognized the accented sleeves belonging to Mikhail as well.

Mikhail crawled out from the darkness, gasping. Sweat dripped down his face. Under his jaw was a dark blue bruise. His shoulders hunched as he tried freeing himself, and he clawed through the sticks and leaves to pull himself forward.

But a massive, orange telekinetic claw emerged and slammed into his back. Mikhail cried out and squirmed. He scratched the ground, gritting his teeth and squinting. Mikhail winced as the hand raised him into the air, forcing him into the sunlight as the creature lumbered out from the den.

Standing on her hind legs, the PSI-Bear swung her claw and hooked it around Mikhail’s camp shirt. Mikhail snatched her arm, but the bear released her telekinetic grip on him. Before he could hit the ground, the bear wrapped both arms around Mikhail and dragged the writhing boy to her chest.

The bear sat down, leaning into her den. She itched her back on the stones, refusing to give Mikhail an inch as he struggled. He pushed his elbows into her arms, but she hardly seemed to be deterred by his resistance. She merely observed him, her ears flicking as Mikhail grappled with one of her arms, trying and failing to escape.

She licked the top of Mikhail’s head. Mikhail’s shoulders jolted to his earlobes, a grunt of surprise escaping him. He shuddered from head to toe, one eye twitching, but she continued cleaning him, he ceased his struggling. Staring at her with eyes as wide as dinner plates, realization dawned on him.

“I am not your cub,” he gravely announced.

But she licked his forehead and hugged Mikhail to her chest, content with her interspecies adoption. She continued grooming Mikhail without a care in the world. She plucked at his camp shirt with a deft paw, removing an ant that had crawled along his sleeve and popped it into her mouth like a piece of chocolate.

“I have Mom. No need for another,” Mikhail growled, freeing his arm. Setting two fingers to his forehead, he summoned his telekinetic hand. 

But in his weary state, she easily punished him. Her telekinetic claw clenched his fist and smothered it out of his existence. The bear snarled, her lip curling at his disobedience. A roar rose from the back of her throat, hitting Mikhail in the face. Her spit landed on his cheeks. She opened her mouth wide enough to expose her sharp, deadly fangs. A spark of fear flashed in Mikhail’s pupils as she chomped down on his camp shirt.

Mikhail hung limply in her mouth like a marionette with its strings about to be cut. His stomach faced the ground, his position not optimal as a wrestler. He craned his neck to look at her, speaking in his native language as if she would understand him.

The bear went on all fours toward her den as Mikhail formed a new plan. He clasped his hands together, held them far out, and swung them down into her belly. The bear howled, releasing Mikhail, who fell flat on his stomach. He scrambled away from her, pushing off the ground toward his hat. 

Retrieving it, he set it on his head and smirked, saying, “Good move to capture and trap in dark cave. Tactical advantage was yours, but mothering opponent is too much. Agree?”

But to Mikhail’s bewilderment, the bear whimpered. She held her tummy, sniffling. She gazed at Mikhail with watery eyes, her nostrils flaring. She reached out for him before curling in on herself. Soft groans of despair filled the silence.

Mikhail’s lips creased into a thin line. He scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat. He tentatively returned and patted her shoulder. The bear made no move to embrace him. Sensing her will to fight had vanished, he sat next to her. Staring up at the large creature, Mikhail peered into the den and uttered a quiet hum.

“Did you lose cub? Or cub is grown?” Mikhail asked as if she could answer him. “I believe condition is empty nest syndrome? Mm, not that you know phrase.”

As she buried her face into her paws, Mikhail stood up. He rubbed her neck, head tilting in sympathy. He looked around the area and noticed a slight rustle in the nearby foliage. On camera, it only caught the stray bushes shaking. He broke into a smile and went toward them. Only half of his back was visible on camera when he crouched. Reaching into the leaves, he stepped back into the frame and held up a cub no larger than a toddler.

“You were stuck, little one?” he asked, brushing stray thorns and vines off the cub’s head. “Worried your mother sick unless she surrendered too quickly in search for you. Why did you not make noise to alert her?”

The cub stared at him with wide, frightened eyes. A mewling sound ghosted past his snout, his shyness self-evident. He clapped his paws over his eyes as if it would make him disappear.

Mikhail chuckled and faced the mother bear. “I believe this is yours,” he said, setting the small cub next to her.

The bear observed her baby for a split second before snatching him in her arms. She immediately licked his head, listening as he squeaked and chirped at her affection. She rolled to her side, snuggling with her baby and roaring with happiness.

Mikhail smiled at the display. Fixing his hat, he smoothed down his shirt and felt a few rips in his collar. Saying his goodbyes, Mikhail went on his way to give the mother and son their much-needed reunion.

The tape stopped as soon as Mikhail was off-screen. Raz ejected it from the VCR and turned to Mikhail, saying, “Wow, Mikhail, I didn’t know bears liked you that much. Do you have more bear moms out there?”

Mikhail chuckled. “In Russia, I had three attempted adoptions. Is nothing new for me,” he said with a sturdy shrug of his shoulders. “But this was first time with American bear. Definitely strongest out of mother bears I faced. She kept me in her embrace for far longer than others.”

Maloof piped up next to him. “What happened those other times?”

“Wrestled them into submission.” He grinned. “Or cubs appeared in middle of match, and they left. Maternal instinct makes them forfeit. Ends in Mikhail’s victory each time.”

Maloof chuckled as Raz handed Mikhail the VHS tape. Mikhail thanked him and set the video in his lap, deciding it would make for an interesting souvenir to bring home to his real mother.


End file.
